From the moment man realized that his sublime dependancy upon the existance of an inexhaustable supply of fossil fuel was folly, there has been an intense drive to convert other hydrocarbon sources into combustible fuels.
Projects have arisen virtually throughout the world in an attempt to convert vegetable oils, forestry residues and other forms of renewable organic materials and of organic wastes into various energy-releasing compounds. Even the U.S. government entered the picture during the period following the OPEC embargo to develop alternative liquidfuels from crops specifically grown for conversion into such fuels. However, this effort was principally directed to the production of methanol and ethanol which required significant modifications to existing engine systems and new dispensing methods.
These projects have failed to provide a commercially efficacious basis upon which to build an economically viable upscale for the production of a fossil fuel alternative and a great need still exists for the development of production processes utilizing readily renewable materials, e.g., harvested crops, as a source material.